All the parties interested in finding a solution to the Crozer Health crisis — preventing for-profit parent company Prospect Medical Holdings Inc. from the shutting the whole system down — met Friday at the office of Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday.
Sunday said in a statement:
“Today, all parties involved in developing a long-term solution to keep the Crozer Health system open and operational met for a meeting in Harrisburg. I am pleased to announce that an agreement was reached with The Foundation for Delaware County.
“Additionally, the Foundation will be engaged with the still-developing plans for Crozer’s restructuring — first under a receiver, FTI Consulting, and ultimately, its permanent nonprofit owner. As for the efforts to solidify that permanent owner, we appreciate the good faith efforts of regional healthcare providers involved in ongoing discussions.
“I am encouraged that the parties, today, remained focused on preserving accessible healthcare for the Delaware County community and maintaining the workforce that provides that essential care.
“Present for today’s meeting were representatives from the Office of Attorney General, Governor’s Office/Office of General Counsel, The Foundation for Delaware County, a Patient Care Ombudsman, FTI Consulting, Prospect Medical, Delaware County, and the Unsecured Creditors Committee (UCC).
“We look forward to updating the bankruptcy court — which has ultimate approval authority over plans for Crozer — at our next hearing.
“There is much work to be done, but we will not stop fighting on behalf of Pennsylvanians.”
The foundation added a little more information to the nebulous language: “We are pleased to announce that the immediate funding pieces necessary to bridge to a long-term solution are in place, per an agreement made with the Commonwealth’s Attorney General.”
There was no elaboration on that, but it might mean the foundation will come through with an extra $13 million to keep Crozer Health operations going, for now.
The foundation was pressed Thursday to add to $7 million it had already committed after a board member obtained a Delaware County Court injunction to stop sending money to keep Crozer operating, believing that the charitable mission of the foundation is more important.
That injunction was met with scorn all around, and the foundation backpedaled, with the injunction being swiftly repealed.
More from the foundation: “Today, all parties involved in developing a long-term solution to keep the Crozer Health system open and operational met for a meeting in Harrisburg.
“We are encouraged that the parties, today, remain focused where they should be: preserving accessible health care for the Delaware County community and maintaining the workforce that provides that essential care.
“Present for today’s meeting were representatives from the Office of Attorney General, Governor’s Office/Office of General Counsel, The Foundation for Delaware County, a Patient Care Ombudsman, FTI Consulting, Prospect Medical, Delaware County, and the Unsecured Creditors Committee (UCC).
“We look forward to joining with the Attorney General to update the bankruptcy court — which has ultimate approval authority over plans for Crozer — at our next hearing.”
Delaware County and state elected officials have accused Prospect of looting the Crozer Health system after buying it in 2016, including this decade shuttering two of the four hospitals. The foundation was formed with money from that 2016 transaction.
Prospect declared bankruptcy in early 2025 for most of its holdings outside of the home state of California, and earlier this month said it’s running out of money to run Crozer Health.
The county and the state pitched in about $10 million each — with the county’s money essentially pass-through funds from the state — to keep things running under receiver FTI Consulting. Then the above entities, and Gov. Josh Shapiro, began to pressure the foundation to pony up some of its money.
The foundation hasn’t said how much it has in the bank, but various entities have suggested it’s short of nine figures, and the foundation has added some of its money is encumbered and that its pockets are not deep enough to save Crozer. The foundation is involved in many charitable endeavors, and is the mover in the upcoming second Delco Gives Day.
The foundation was resisting and the board member obtained the injunction. It’s not known whether being out $20 million in short order will affect the foundation’s charitable efforts.
The meeting Monday is in a north Texas courtroom with a judge who is experienced in dealing with bankruptcies of health care entities.
Meanwhile, Penn Medicine has emerged in bankruptcy court discussions as a potential partner or buyer for Crozer Health. Some officials have been saying things like the system under a new owner would look different, without explaining what that means.
